So – this is the first anniversary of Southern Goth in a Northern Town.

Wow.

I’ve been doing this feature/column/call it what you will/thing for an entire year. And I managed to make a post every month. Not always on time, but at least I managed to post something. I will call that a win.

I started doing this to see if I could set myself a theme and a schedule and actually write a piece every month. It was a challenge to myself and I honestly didn’t think I’d be able to do it. I figured I’d get distracted, get depressed, decide it’s too much work (okay, I did decide that, but somehow kept on writing anyway).

This month, I was going to write about whether or not I’d continue this or do something different. But, when I was discussing this month’s piece with Der Mann and Herself, they both couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t continue writing this feature. So I said, well, maybe a lack of topics? I mean…I’ve been here three years now. What else is there to notice?

Hoooo, yeah, was that a catalyst or what?

They immediately came back with a list of things that they thought it would be highly amusing for the Southern Goth to take on; in fact, I now think I have at least another year and a half of topics for this space.*

*Herself has requested (and is is really looking forward to, it seems) that I discuss fried baloney, biscuits & gravy, and barbecue, whether I do them all in one blog or break them up into separate blogs, because I tried barbecue up here, and um…no. Trust me. Just NO. I’m not even going to try biscuits & gravy or fried baloney unless I make it myself.

Since this is supposed to be a retrospective, let’s see – what has changed? Well, around February 9th, we finally got what I envisioned as “Michigan Snow”. It dropped nearly a foot on us over the course of the day, the roads were terrible when the Bossman sent me home (early), we had to shovel the car out of the snow over the weekend, and scrape an eighth-inch of ice off the windshield in order to get to work on Monday.

It was GLORIOUS.

Other than that, nothing has changed. People here still drink unsweet tea, call coke “pop” or “soda”, complain constantly about the snow, whine about traffic if they have an extra five minutes on their drive, and act like they’ve never seen a Goth before and that I’m some kind of oddity.

Anyway, there are some changes on the horizon, so we shall see what the next year brings and what I’ll find to write about in this space. It’s time, I think, to branch out and begin looking for things to try or attend, like conventions or meet-up groups, or maybe even a class or two.** This, I have no doubt, will lead to even more topics for this space.

**Note to self: perhaps I should actually sign up for that sewing class I’ve been nattering about for years.

So – to wrap this up – Southern Goth in a Northern Town is going to continue as a feature for the foreseeable future (the foreseeable future being the next twelve months). After that, well, we will see.

Not as much as I’d thought we’d get, when this move was first mentioned. To be honest, when told our destination was Michigan, I pictured drifts taller than me (even in boots!) starting in September and lasting through May. Think of…Narnia, under the rule of the White Witch (with whom, I’ve discovered, I rather identify when it comes to winter and Christmas. Oh, dear).

Sadly, that has not been the case.

Sadly, I say, because I really love snow. I find it creatively empowering, beautiful, and just fun. I can spend hours watching snow fall, as long as I’m inside with a cup of hot cocoa and my cat curled in my lap.

Actually, that’s not true; I’ll watch it snow at work, when I’m driving, whenever. I love seeing the snow come down because that usually means I’m about to have a creative spurt. (Last snowfall, I made three webcomic pages!)

But, considering we’re approaching the end of January, we may well be at the end of our allotted snowfall for the year. (Der Mann disagrees; he thinks we’ll get one more big one.) But I have to say, while this year has been better than others, I’m still disappointed in the lack of snow. I truly would love a huge storm with big, floofy flakes piling everywhere into drifts that make the world look like someone upended a bag of sugar everywhere.

But we have shambler weather instead; gray misty fog. Here and there, for a minute, it’ll rain a bit, but it’s…unsatisfying. If we have to have rain, give me huge black clouds, rolling thunder, lightning zigging and zagging, ozone crackling in the air. C’mon weather, commit!

These gray, dreary days leave me unsettled and restless. I have trouble concentrating. I’m growly, out of sorts, and vaguely dissatisfied with everything.

It’s uncomfortable. I don’t like it, especially at this time of year. If it was March, I would still be rumbly, but not as bad, because gray, wet March days mean it’s almost Spring and Spring means Cadbury eggs! Much can be forgiven for a Cadbury egg.

Still, I hope Der Mann is right. I hope the temperature drops and it snows, snows, and snows!

I really need a big snowfall, because I have to figure out my plot points for the next Perfect Coven book… 😮